Hundreds of youth turned up Wednesday morning at Alaskan grounds in Malindi Sub County for the ongoing Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment exercise
The Senior Recruitment officer in charge Lt Col Morris Nyagah said that the process has been going on smoothly.
However, many prospective recruits were turned away for failing to meet the mandatory requirements.
He did not disclose the number of recruits selected even as he advised those who would miss out not to give up but to try their luck in subsequent recruitment exercises.
Saying the exercise was free to all eligible Kenyans, the officer warned the public against falling prey to fraudsters taking advantage of the exercise to con unsuspecting Kenyans, adding that anybody found collecting bribes would be dealt with ruthlessly.
“There are fraudsters out there and I want to tell Kenyans that KDF recruitment is free and those people are conmen and it’s voluntary to all Kenyans with qualifications,” he said.
His warning came in the wake of arrests by sleuths from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Tuesday.
Salim Mohamed Shekue and Federick Hamisi Baya were arrested for allegedly receiving Ksh250,000 from a recruit with the promise of securing him a place in the force.
The arrest was confirmed by EACC head of Corporate Affairs and Communication Erick NGumbi who added that the complainant had taken a bank loan and had already handed over Ksh 200,000 to the fraudsters.
